The Alaska Department of Transportation is conducting environmental reviews and soliciting comments for a controversial project that would build a space port on the small island of Eldred Rock in the Lynn Canal, 55 miles north of Juneau.
“This exciting project will facilitate economic projections with monetary facilities and lots of rocket fuel manufacturing,” said project manager Beau Rocrat, “as well as providing Alaskans with the unique opportunity to experience the wonder of space flight.”
The space port, called the Chilkat Blast-Off, is just one part of the Chilkat Rush Hour travel corridor that will connect the state capital to the towns of Haines, Skagway and beyond, replacing the existing ferry system. According to the full Rush Hour plan, users will drive to a new ferry terminal about 40 miles north of Juneau, board a short ferry to the Chilkat Blast-Off space port, then enter 10-passenger rocket ships that launch them into low-earth orbit before landing five minutes later at another space port in Taiyasanka Harbor. Users then board a light monorail over to Lutak, where the existing ferry terminal will be converted into a multi-use travel hub. From there, users can take a high-speed submarine to Haines, a zipline to Chilkoot, a zeppelin to Skagway, a gondola to Geisan, an atlatl to Atlin, or a horse to Whitehorse. Cars will be sent to the final destinations via a car ferry.
Critics cite the $16 billion price tag for the space port: “That doesn’t even include the second space port at Taiyasanka or even the ziplines,” said Phil Greeney who heads opposition group No Blast-Off. “The plan initially calls for single-use rocket boosters that splash down. Think of the waste.”
No Blast-Off has also cited environmental concerns of having rockets repeatedly blasting the oyster beds. “It’ll cook them, and oysters should be raw, with a squirt of lemon,” the group wrote in a press release. Greeney said that repeated rocket launches would disturb nesting birds and sea lion rookeries, and that escaping gases from the zeppelins would affect eagle migration. Beau Rocrat disputed the claim, “There’s no evidence that ultrasonic ballistic rockets affect sea lion breeding patterns in southeast Alaska.” According to the environmental impact statement, there would be stated impacts – environmentally.
The group has also brought attention to the conflict of interest with the DOT’s history of rocket fuel manufacturing, but state representatives said, “Nuh uh, your face is a conflict of interest.”
When asked about cost concerns, Rocrat said that the state was also considering several cheaper alternatives, like replacing the monorail with a bike lane, the submarine with a whole bunch of kayaks, or the space ports with a giant trebuchet at one end and some big pillows at the other.